NSF "For The Love of Making" Fall Lookbook and Men's Denim Launch

LA-based NSF makes the kind of soft, slouchy but subtly sharp clothing we like to waste a summer day in. They recently launched a discerning men’s denim line co-designed with Simon Miller and have released a lookbook for this fall called "For The Love of Making," that highlights and celebrates community-focused and creative individuals. We chatted with designer Nick Friedberg earlier this week about growing up in LA, why everyone wants to get a piece of surf culture and what sets his brand apart...

The GQ Eye: "For The Love of Making" seems like such a cool project. Can you talk a little about how it was conceived and the focus of the project?

Nick Friedberg: The way that we do things as a brand at NSF and what really appeals to me, personally, is taking the time to highlight the process and the craft involved in the products versus just the fashion element that we’re dealing with every day.

"For The Love of Making" was a way for us to share certain individuals, leaders of their communities, who engage in wonderful, creative crafts and processes everyday. And also having a chance to highlight the making of whatever product these particular people are producing on a daily basis. We turned it into a lookbook [for fall] and printed it out in a newspaper format in black and white. It’s being distributed around the area and now, on the web.

GQ: What’s been a catalyst for the recent heritage and authenticity movement in men’s clothing? Why do you think people have been drawn back to these brands that have a story?

Friedberg: Well, we’ve been fed a lot of smoke and mirrors for many years. The wrong kind of behavior is often celebrated, in the media and so forth. [Laughs.] I’m a humble dude from LA and I grew up in a cool way with cool people around me, so there’s always that element of "real." As a designer, I’m not willing to portray something that isn’t evident in my every day life. We make a great product, we try to use fantastic people, the best materials and the most straightforward processes. That resonates with the modern consumer and that consumer also has access to this kind of information and exposure more so then they ever have before. It allows us as a brand to get real with our consumer and we pride ourselves on being completely transparent with people.

GQ: Tell us about the mens denim line, it just launched, right?

Friedberg: Yes, NSF denim was just shipped last week. Simon Miller and I met over a year ago and became friends. We were both fans of what each other did. Organically, it came up that NSF needed to do men’s denim and it’s always been the ultimate passion project for me. Based on the materials and wash processes, etc. jeans are some of the most challenging and intriguing pieces to produce. Simon, in my eyes, is the most talented denim designer in the men’s market, so it was a natural choice.

We did a six jean assortment of different washes and we’ve had tremendous selling feedback, so far. For the initial design, we went with one fit, which is a straight cut: it’s a very accessible, every guy jean. We were able to use the best quality Japanese selvedge denim and all the washes are hand processed. There are anywhere between 20 and 30 steps in the processes, per jean and they’re all made right in LA. Even the hardware is all produced in America. The character that you’re able to extract from a Japanese selvedge denim versus an American denim is really night and day. The prices may be a bit higher than some, but they reflect the work that has gone into the product.

GQ: Seems like there’s a lot of surf vibe and Baja culture going into men’s brands these days. Besides the obvious allures, what part of that culture do you think is speaking to people right now?

Friedberg: It’s true, a lot of brands have jumped on the surf vibe. It’s kind of a trend, but it’s really more of an aspirational lifestyle. We travel the world and see all these beautiful places, but everyone’s always interested in whats going on in Malibu, Ventura, asking "do you surf?" [Laughs] That aesthetic is natural for us, sure. We grew up in LA, we surfed, we skated; that element is always present. But that’s not specifically my LA: there’s so many cultural elements and neighborhoods that have gone into creating this robust collection. It’s got a lot more angles than just the surf: it’s got urban, casual, skate, high-end, right down the line... It’s so easy to get inspiration here, watching what other people are wearing, architecture, the different kinds of people and communities. We love being able to bring all of that into our design process.

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